Minjae took off his helmet and parked his motorcycle on the side of the road near the building.
The facility itself seemed to be in an older sector of the district, but he could sometimes see construction workers going in and out with truckloads of concrete and equipment.
So they're renovating it. Some bigshot must've bought this team then?
Doesn't really matter to me.
He shrugged and approached the entrance, his eyes drifting upward. The old signs were still there, a little worn and half-faded—a sign of decay and negligence from the old team.
But right next to it, a small banner hung across. A white flag decorated with only one symbol: a small circle, with coronal radiance emanating out from its center.
Minjae's eyes widened as he instantly knew what it was synonymous with.
"Solaris…?"
His steps came to a stop. "Since when?"
Minjae reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. If anyone would know, it'd be—
"Hello?" Chaewon's voice came through, slightly muffled like she was in the middle of something.
"Hey," Minjae said. "Did you hear anything about Solaris acquiring a Tier-4 team by any chance?"
"Hm?" she replied. "What do you mean?"
"The Red Valiants," he explained. "In downtown Ulsan, did Solaris acquire them?"
"I'm at the tryout venue, and Solaris flags are almost everywhere."
There was a brief pause on the other end as some chatter was going on, presumably between Chaewon and her manager. Then the call picked back up.
"Yeah."
"I think I heard something about it," she continued, pausing for a moment as if recalling on the spot. "My manager just told me that they were planning to turn it into some kind of academy, or low-league team."
"Mostly for the Players that are on two-way contracts in Solaris and some other bench Players that don't get much time on the field."
"Do you know when they bought it?"
"No clue," she said immediately. "You know I don't really keep up with the business side of things."
"Yeah…figured."
"Anyway," Chaewon continued, "if you're there, then it's probably legit. Just means the competition's gonna be worse than usual."
"Yeah," Minjae replied, his grip on the phone tightening slightly. "…I can see that."
His eyes drifted to the venue and finally landed on the crowd. There were at least a few hundred there, if not more than that.
"But hey, with your skills? It'll be a piece of cake!" she said enthusiastically.
Minjae hesitated a little before sighing. "I hope you're right on this one."
"Talk to you later."
"Mmmh, good luck!" her voice came enthusiastically from the other side of the line.
"Oh, and…thanks."
"…"
"Your advice will be 100,000 won, sir! Would you like to pay in monthly installments of 25,000? Or—"
Minjae managed a small smirk before he ended the call immediately, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
He scanned the surroundings, managing to find a small booth to the side where everyone seemed to be lining up and receiving a small slip.
Instinctively, Minjae made his way to the back. Though it seemed his mind was still elsewhere, as he managed to bump straight into someone.
"—Watch it."
Minjae stopped mid-step. "…My bad."
The other guy clicked his tongue, adjusting his stance slightly before looking up—
"...Ohh," recognition flickered across his face almost immediately. "Kang Minjae…"
Minjae recognized him just as quickly. Han Jisung, Blue Comet's main striker and captain of the team.
For a brief second, neither of them said anything before Jisung decided to break the silence.
"You're here?"
"Yeah."
Jisung glanced past him toward the line, then back again. "…Didn't think you'd keep trying."
"Figured you'd switched careers by now. Maybe something easier…fast food, perhaps?"
Minjae's expression tightened as he narrowed his eyebrow. "Fuck's that supposed to mean?"
Jisung let out a sharp laugh, like he'd been waiting for it.
"You really don't get it, do you?"
"You're not talented," he continued, the words coming out louder than he probably wanted. "You never were."
"You think this is just bad luck? Bad calls?" he scoffed. "You weren't fit for Battle Arena from the start."
Jisung paused on purpose, just long enough for the words to really sink in and that his intentions were clear. "I thought the team falling apart because of you would've been enough of a lesson."
"…Guess not."
"Do yourself a favor," he added, turning away. "Don't waste your time…and mine."
Minjae opened his mouth instantly, loaded with all types of insults that came from his PC bang days.
"...You—"
"Alright, that's enough."
A man stepped into their conversation near the front of the room. He looked about his late twenties, maybe early thirties, with messy black hair that covered most of his forehead.
But he wasn't wearing the standard staff jacket like the others, but a crisp white shirt with a dark vest fitted right over it—along with a yellow tie to seal the look.
He had one hand in his pocket while the other was carrying a small clipboard.
Jisung clicked his tongue under his breath and stepped back.
"Tch..."
Minjae exhaled quietly, the words he'd been about to say dissolving before they ever left his mouth.
"If you're here to argue, take it outside," the man said flatly. "If you're here to try out, line up."
They both took a seat at the waiting area before the man cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"I'll keep it brief."
"Our core roster is already complete."
The sentence instantly got the entire crowd reacting. Mutters went up in the air, a few impatient ones outright left the venue entirely. The man watched them go before shrugging lightly and turning back to the rest of the group.
Though Minjae had the same thought.
Then why post the recruitment at all—?
But his question was quickly answered.
"As you all may or may not know," the man continued. "This team will now be Solaris' Academy team, fittingly nicknamed…Lunaris."
"Solaris is one of the top contenders pushing toward the Tier-1 league," he went on. "So our standards are…high."
"Let me get this straight."
"If you're here to prove you're the strongest—" he said, almost offhandedly, "you're wasting your time."
The murmurs suddenly died down as everyone turned to face him.
"We're not looking for another star…but the final piece to our team."
His eyes moved once more across the crowd, taking in each and every one of the applicants. "So if you think you are that final piece."
He lowered the clipboard slightly.
"…then welcome to Lunaris' open tryouts."